7
“Welcome to the Cloud Clan Leader Assessment Dungeon.”
“This dungeon has a total of three stages: Ghost Town, Extreme Survival, and Fire Cavern. The difficulty level is SSS. Successfully clearing the dungeon will earn you the Clan Leader’s Staff. Failure will result in elimination.”
“First Stage: Ghost Town.”
“Completion requirement: Survive until dawn.”
We stood on a street in the town, and the robotic voice echoed in our ears. I had thought that since I almost cleared the dungeon in my previous life, this time it would be easy. But I was wrong. In my previous life, the first stage was wilderness exploration. Now, it was Ghost Town, a stage I had never encountered. It seemed this infuriating dungeon randomized its stages each time it activated.
“This requirement seems pretty simple.” Valerie shrugged it off and walked forward with her Beast–kin.
I looked at Ryker beside me, feeling a pang of concern. “Where have you been these past two days? Why are you covered in so many injuries?”
Ryker gently smoothed my furrowed brow. “It’s nothing. I made it back, didn’t I?”
Before we could finish talking, Valerie and Sterling, who had gone ahead, returned in a panic, running faster than rabbits. In the distance, a dark mass, radiating a wild aura, surged towards us like a tide. Looking closer, I saw it was a herd of wild boars, their bristles erect, eyes gleaming menacingly, and tusks bared.
Ryker shielded me behind him, extending his claws. His blades were sharper than daggers, about an inch long, cutting through metal as if it were mud. The charging boars were like mere cabbages before him, flying through the air and crashing to the ground. I held my dagger, seizing every opening to land a finishing blow. Valerie and Sterling hid a short distance behind us. Occasionally, a few stray boars would charge them, forcing them to fight. They thought they were being clever, but soon, their smiles vanished.
In a few moments, the boar horde suddenly disappeared. The boars we had killed turned into coins, floating before us. Valerie looked at the few thin sheets of money in her hand, then at the thick stack in mine, and her face crumpled with regret.
11:47 AM
There was only one hotel in town. The first floor was a restaurant, and the second floor had guest rooms. Ryker and I booked a room, then went down to the first floor to eat. Valerie and Sterling barely had enough for their room, and after paying, they had no money left for food.
Sitting in the restaurant downstairs, watching Ryker and me order a table full of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, they were utterly drooling. Valerie shamelessly came over to borrow money.
“Sister, can you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back in the later stages.”
I still remembered how, in the second stage of my previous life, she’d swindled all my items, and I was almost eliminated by the system. So, looked up. “If you were me, would you lend it?”
“If you don’t want to lend it, then don’t! What’s the big deal?!” Valerie stomped back to her table, grumbling about why Sterling hadn’t killed more boars. Sterling, looking even more wronged, said, “Didn’t you pull me back and make me run?”
